BBC One is set to commission longer-running drama series, in the mould of
American shows such as The Wire and Mad Men, after its new controller Danny
Cohen said that they are “something to aspire to”.

Traditionally, the BBC’s only long-running dramas have been soaps such as EastEnders and Holby City, and family shows early on Saturday evenings, such as Doctor Who and Merlin.

The corporation’s flagship dramas at 9pm, such as Spooks and New Tricks, are commissioned for a maximum of eight or 10 episodes - compared to the standard annual run of 22 or 24 episodes for American dramas such as CSI, House or 24.

Speaking to a Broadcasting Press Guild event, Mr Cohen said that “it would be very nice” for BBC One to have a series like The Killing, the sophisticated Danish detective thriller that was a cult success when it was shown on BBC Four earlier this year, and which ran for 20 episodes.

The Killing attracted audiences of over 500,000 viewers every Saturday night, despite being made in Danish and shown with subtitles. Critics praised its long episode run for allowing authentic storytelling and character development, especially of its central character, the enigmatic police detective Sarah Lund.

“Yes, if you could do it, it would be something to aspire to,” said Mr Cohen. “We’re not brilliantly set up as an industry in the UK to do it in the way the American industry is with more of a team writing model. So there’s some quite big structural changes that we’d have to make to deliver that, and I think we should, but you can’t force creatives into it very easily.”

Mr Cohen said that “we’re encouraging people to try and think like that”, and cited the long-running BBC One sitcom My Family as an example of a show that was created in that way.

His comments mark a shift from the BBC’s previous position, which has been to commission the best ideas in comedy and drama from individual writers rather than setting up the kind of “writers’ rooms” that are common on American shows such as Friends or 30 Rock.

In a speech last September, the BBC’s head of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson, said: “I’m not afraid of saying we shouldn’t compete with America when it comes to 24-part series – our business models are completely different. What I do believe is that the BBC should embrace everything that is uniquely British. We should be the single greatest home of authored drama that entertains and stimulates. Single writers crafting great work whether that is 10-part series, singles plays or serials.”

Mr Stephenson defended the decision to only commission three 90-minute episodes of Sherlock, which was the BBC’s biggest new drama hit last year. In America, said Mr Stephenson, the programme’s lead writer Steven Moffat “would not be able to write Sherlock how he wants to. He would be biffed off and replaced with a showrunner who could give create a financially acceptable model of 24 episodes.”

Mr Stephenson added: “We are not going to commission 24-part series or classic drama because critics tell us to – but we may well if a creative has a bold idea.”

Adam Crozier, the chief executive of ITV, has also said that he wants his company to create long-running, returnable dramas that can then be sold around the world.